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The heads-up match has settled into a nice rhythm of pre-flop button raises, with the player in the big blind calling. Few hands, however, have gone past the flop. Usually a single bet has been enough to end the hand right there. As both of these players have displayed an extreme amount of patience and skill to get this far, we could be in for a lengthy heads-up battle.
The button in the last hand was Jon Eaton, which meant it was his turn to raise pre-flop. Ryan Welch did his part by calling out of the big blind. He then checked a flop of 
to Eaton, who fired out 135,000. Welch called. Both players checked the 
turn and the 
river. Eaton called, "King," but that was no good against Welch's small straight, 
.
With Level 26 just concluded, the last two players are taking a short break.
After about a half hour of dueling, Welch has managed to cut into Eaton's lead a bit:
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
4,510,000
-740,000
|
-740,000 |
|
4,180,000
745,000
|
745,000 |
|
||
Level: 27
Blinds: 30,000/60,000
Ante: 5,000
How'd you spend your twenty-minute break? We bet it wasn't as enjoyable as the way Ryan Welch spent his, each of his limbs occupied by one of his five massage therapists.
He's not quite asleep, but Welch has returned to the table looking a little more relaxed than he was a half hour ago.
At $10/hour, Welch's pricey rub was a strong contrast to the low buy-in massage a player recently received in Event #54.
For probably the first time in heads-up play, Jon Eaton folded his button. Ryan Welch, of course, had two aces.
Our two men took a flop of 
in what would develop into the biggest pot of the head-up duel thus far. Jon Eaton checked, and Ryan Welch bet 150,000. Eaton called, and he checked again when the 
hit fourth street. Welch fired another 275,000 chips, and Eaton made a quick call once again.
That brought them to the 
river, and Eaton faced one last bet from Welch, a big one this time, 725,000. He slowly cut out the calling chips, eying up Welch as he stacked out the correct amount. After a moment of self-convincing, he slid them into the pot.
"Full house," Welch said, and Eaton sunk in his chair. He watched his opponent table 
for sixes full, good enough to win him the pot and the chip lead.
Welch - 5.48 million
Eaton - 3.21 million
Ryan Welch fired on every street against Jon Eaton. It was the final bet that produced a winner. Welch raised pre-flop to 130,000 and was called by the out-of-position Eaton. Eaton check-called 150,000 on the flop and 275,000 on the turn. At the river, with the board showing 
, Eaton checked again. Welch made a pot-sized bet of 1,000,000, drawing a long preiod fo reflection from Eaton. Eaton eventually folded his hand, allowing to extend his lead.
